A Dragon's Heart
by Emberlily216
Summary: After a long battle, Fairy Tail has saved Fiore once again! However, their celebration is cut short when Lucy stumbles into the guild hall with bruises all over her. After investigating, Erza, Gray and Natsu discover that someone called "The Devil" is the one who attacked Lucy and threatens to take over Fiore. Join Natsu and all of Fairy Tail as they battle for Fiore one last time!
1. The Message

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, I do not.**

* * *

**A Dragon's Heart**

_Whenever I think back to those days, one thing always comes back to haunt me. The fact that it all could have been prevented if I had only gone with her on that damned mission. Then again, and I hate saying this, fate does have a weird way of making things happen._

* * *

It all began a few months ago at the guild hall. Fairy Tail had just recovered from an enormous battle and the only thing to do was to celebrate! At the bar, Natsu, Happy and Grey were bickering about who actually won the battle while Erza, Wendy, and Carla sat not too far away making fun of the men.

"Carla, are you okay?" Wendy asked her white exceed friend. The white cat-like creature sat there, her eyes wide open with fear as she received a premonition. Once it was over, she shook her head and looked up at her friend and smiled.

"I'm fine, Wendy! Just thinking." she replied looking at her paws with worry.

A large bang sounded from the other side of the bar where Natsu and Grey were talking. Natsu had slammed his cup against the countertop and lifted his right hand in flames.

"YOU WANNA GO, STRIPPER?!" he shouted challenging Grey to a battle. But Grey just sat there frozen as he looked at the guild entrance. Natsu, looing at him confused, turned his head and saw a blonde figure stumbling into the guild. It was Lucy, and by the looks of it, she was badly injured. Natsu gasped and looked at his partner with fear, "L-Lucy?" he whispered.

Lucy limped quietly into the guild and looked up, her eyes dark clouded with pain. "N-Natsu….E-Erza…..He…They…" she stuttered before she lost her balance. Natsu ran over to catch her just as she was falling, "WENDY! HELP!" he shouted to the sky dragon slayer. Wendy quickly ran over to them and began to heal Lucy. Erza was right behind and looked outside the guild entrance to see if anyone had followed Lucy. She turned and saw that her friend had been bruised badly from what looked like to be an ambush. "Get her to the infirmary, Wendy. Elfman! Help Wendy get Lucy to the infirmary! Natsu, Grey, come with me!" she yelled giving the orders.

Elfman walked over and lifted Lucy gently out of Natsu's arms while Wendy continued to heal her. Natsu looked at Elfman and mumbled something to him, "Please watch over her…" Elfman nodded and walked away with Wendy. Grey and Natsu approached Erza with questioning eyes, "What is it Erza?" they both asked.

"We need to investigate this. We only just got back a few hours ago, so this must have been a planned attack on Lucy. We will go to her house and search for any clues, but keep your eyes peeled."

The three walked to Lucy's house without seeing anything suspicious, but what welcomed them at Lucy's house was another story.

Upon entering her room, it looked as if a battle had taken place. The furniture was beaten and broken, but nothing seemed to be robbed. Erza noticed a small piece of purple wool and water near the bathroom.

"Looks like Lucy was using Aries and Aquarius to protect herself and fight off whatever came in here."

"Erza! Natsu! Look!" Grey shouted pointing at burn marks on Lucy's table. Natsu and Erza looked at the burn marks and saw that it was a threat letter to them specifically.

_Fairy Tail,_

_This is only the beginning. Your celestial mage was able to beat me this time, but next time, I won't go so easy. I will resurrect the Baron and Fiore will be mine!_

_-The Devil_

The three wizards looked at the message and anger filled their hearts. Natsu growled and lift his fist on fire.

"WHO DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS? He can't just attack Lucy and get away with it!"

"Natsu! Calm down!" it was Grey. "Now that we have some evidence, let's go back and check on Lucy." He said leading the three out of Lucy's house.

"Guys…" Happy finally spoke up, his voice trembling. All three of them turned around and saw the blue cat shaking as tears ran down his face. He was holding Lucy's keys, "They seem afraid…I can feel it in my paws…" he choked. Natsu smiled and picked up his partner.

"You hold onto them, okay buddy?" he said walking out of Lucy's room. The three began to walk back to the guild hall, but what they didn't see was that someone was watching them from afar.


	2. A Sadness Shared

Natsu, Gray and Erza walked back to the guild, all three of them cautiously looking around. Happy sat on Natsu's shoulders, the young exceed still solemn about his fellow celestial friends who are troubled. Natsu's fists clenched tightly as he felt his friend still quivering in fear. The thought of someone trying to attack Lucy AND her celestial spirits made him think of unspeakable punishments towards this "Devil" person. Gray and Erza noticed him become angrier as they walked on, Erza feeling his pain the most.

"Natsu…As soon as we get back, go to Lucy." She spoke with a gentle voice. She knew that she had to go to the Master for help. As far as she knew, this "Devil" person has never been mentioned before anywhere and it shook her soul. The guild finally came into view and two figures stood at its entrance. Gray squinted his eyes to see who it was, "Looks like Levy and Gajeel have come to greet us." He spoke with a rough voice. As they approached, Levy ran up to them with Gajeel by her side, both of them appeared to be anxious, especially Levy.

"Erza! The Master wants to speak with you right now! He said it's urgent!" she cried. Erza nodded and ran back with Levy to the hall. She knew the Master would want to talk to her about this, but why so urgently?

As Erza ran off with Levy, Gajeel stood next to Gray and Natsu. "You should probably go visit the blonde…I heard Wendy finished healing her not too long ago." He directed to Natsu. Natsu's eyes widened with shock and he ran off with Happy holding onto his shoulders to go see Lucy. Gajeel then turned to Gray, "Poor girl…I just took one look at her and knew she would be a tough one to heal." He spoke to Gray, actually showing some concern for Lucy. Gray nodded, "Hey, come with me. There's something I want to check out." Gajeel cocked his eye brow up and shrugged his shoulders, following Gray back in the direction of Lucy's house.

* * *

Natsu busted through the infirmary door and saw Wendy and Carla sitting next to Lucy's bed. Elfman was right across from them, he stood up and face Natsu. "Lucy is still weak, but her soul fights like a Man!" he mumbled, trying to hide his sadness. As Elfman left, Natsu slowly walked up to Lucy's side. Happy flew off of his shoulders and rested at the foot of her bed, setting her keys down. He had felt the spirits finally become at ease as they sensed the presence of their healed friend. Carla went over to Happy and put her paw on his back, "They seem okay." She said quietly. Happy nodded and started to swell up with tears again. Wendy looked at the two exceeds and back a Lucy. She was happy that she was able to heal her friend, but pain still lingered in her heart. She looked up at Natsu and saw that he was holding Lucy's hand against his forehead. A small smile broke through onto the young dragon slayer, she knew that Lucy would be safe as long as Natsu was there. She stood up and walked over to Carla, "Let's go, Carla. Maybe we can help Mira prepare something for Lucy to eat when she wakes up." She said picking up her friend. Before they left, Wendy looked back and saw small tears falling down Natsu's cheeks. She gave a small frown and slowly closed the door, "Oh Mavis, please help Natsu and Lucy smile again." Wendy prayed, holding Carla close.

Natsu held Lucy's hand against his forehead, feeling her pulse beat slow and steady. He pulled it away and just looked at his friend, the thought of someone purposely attacking Lucy just couldn't come across his mind. "Why…" he began saying, "Why would someone do this? You would never hurt anyone!" he choked as tears came from his eyes. He felt her fingers start to twinge and move in his hands, Lucy was starting to wake up! Natsu wiped away his tears and sat up, a big smile starting to form on his face. Lucy's eyes slowly opened, she could feel her body ache and also felt her left hand being slightly warm. She moved her head slowly and saw Natsu sitting there with a smile on his face. Lucy smiled slightly and felt her cheeks blush a little, "Natsu…" she mumbled. She tried to lift herself up, but she just didn't have the strength. Natsu placed his hand on her back and helped her sit up, "How you feelin', Luce?" he asked as he examined her. Wendy healed a lot of the bruises, but he could tell that Lucy was still in pain.

"Still in pain, but I'm feeling better. Oh! My keys!" she said as she searched frantically for them.

Happy walked up, trying to hold the tears back, "Here, Lucy. I found them at your house. They seemed scared." he said sniffling.

Lucy smiled and petted Happy's head, "Thank you, Happy." She said giving a small kiss on the head.

Happy ran up and gave Lucy a hug, "WE WERE SO WORRIED, LUCY! Even Natsu was concerned for you!" he cried, letting out all of his emotions. Lucy gave a small giggle and hugged Happy back, she felt bad for making her friends worry, but there was no way she could have predicted what happened to her.

"Hey buddy, why don't you go help Wendy and Carla with Lucy's food?" he said trying to calm his partner down. Happy nodded and flew to the door, tears still streaming down his face as he left the room. Natsu looked back at Lucy and saw that she was looking down at her keys, holding Aries and Aquarius in her hands. Knowing bad Lucy must have felt, he brushed her bangs out of her face and placed his hand on hers as she held her keys. Lucy looked up at him as tears streamed from her face, "Natsu…" she choked, pulling his hand towards her. Surprised, Natsu got up and sat on the edge of Lucy's bed and held her as she cried into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her head and body, embracing her and wishing that he would never let her go. He pulled her away and smiled as her looked at her tear-soaked face, "I promise Lucy, I will find whoever did this to you and burn them to a crisp!" he valiantly declared. Lucy sniffed and smiled at Natsu, giving him a nod of approval.

* * *

In the Master's room, Erza and the Master had been discussing what had happened to Lucy and what Erza saw in the apartment. "Master?! Are you sure that's the action we should take?! What would the council think?!" she asked frantically, fear hidden in her strong voice. The Master, staring out his window at the sunset gave a nod. "It is the only way, Erza. In order to protect this guild, we have to take matters into our own hands!" he spoke back, trying to hold in his anger. Erza looked at him with disbelief; she looked at the ground with anger, but then sighed, "Very well. I will prepare the teams in the morning." She said giving a bow and exiting the room. "Erza!" she heard the master call from behind. She turned her head and saw the master standing behind her, his eyes full of sadness.

"Please just know this…Whoever this Devil person is, he intends to do exactly what the Baron planned to execute many years ago. The only way to save the guild and Fiore is to go along with plan. I know it is the last any of us would want, but it is what we must do." The Master spoke trying to hold back his anger, but also try to be sincere towards Erza. But Erza understood, she nodded and left the room. She walked down the hallway a bit and fell against the wall, tears streaming down her face. She punched the wall with anger and slowly fell to the ground whispering the same words over and over again, "Disband….The guild?!"


	3. The Nightmare Man

Erza stood before the entire guild, her heart pounding at the thought that something so small could lead to this. She could hear whispers from her fellow guild mates asking each other what was going to happen or how something should not be done. Erza raised her right hand to silence them, "My fellow guild mates," she began.

"It is with a heavy heart that I must give these orders. Since the recent incident with Lucy and the threat against the guild, the Master and I have decided to disband the guild into two parties." she said scanning the audience, everyone sighing in relief that the outcome is not as bad as they thought. "Party one will be devised of a group of wizards who will join me in tracking down this "Devil" person and hopefully destroying him. Party two will remain here and protect Magnolia."

"I'll help protect the guild!" a proud volunteer said from the back. A group soon followed them in offering to help protect the guild. Finally, Cana and Mirajane came forward, both smiling happily, "We will lead the protection forces." Erza nodded and smiled back at her friends, happy to see that Fairy Tail is always filled with bravery.

"Now then, the master and I have selected this attack force very carefully. If anyone of you objects to being chosen, please come see me. The people joining me are Grey, Gajeel, Juvia, Team Shadow Gear, Wendy, Mystogan," a sudden shock came across the crowd at the mention of his name. Erza lifted her hand again to silence them, "And Elfman and Laxus." With that, Erza walked off the stool and went up to the Master's room again.

Gajeel and the others chosen for the team sat together at a table and shared the same nervous expressions, at least Wendy and Levy did. Laxus was the first to speak, "Something is telling me that whatever it is, Gramps knows about it more than any of us and knows that only we have the skill to track it down."

The others nodded, but something didn't feel right between them. "Why didn't Natsu get chosen?!" a small voice spoke. It was Carla, her paws sitting on her hips as she spoke what was on everyone's mind. Happy was standing next to her, he did not know either but there could be only one reason why. He looked up at the infirmary and began to think about Lucy and her spirit friends. Tears began to fall from his eyes again and he fell onto Wendy's lap. Everyone looked at Happy and then looked at the infirmary door, sadness filled the air once again as they began to think about their friends.

* * *

In the infirmary, Natsu was standing by the door. Lucy fell back asleep and he didn't want to disturb her, but he did listen in on the meeting Erza gave. He knew why he did not get chosen to go, someone had to protect Lucy or help her on her own find this person. A small knock sounded from the door, "Come in." Natsu said as he walked back over to Lucy's bed side. It was the Master, he walked in and greeted Natsu with a nod. "I take it she is doing better?" he asked walking over to the other side of Lucy's bed. Natsu nodded, "Yeah, she just fell back asleep. I haven't asked her any questions yet though. I don't want to push her."

The Master nodded, "I'm sorry I did not put you on the attack force. But I need you to protect Lucy, besides; you two make a team of your own in a way. I want you to keep in constant contact with Erza. Every time Lucy speaks of new information, send it to her team. The only thing we can do until an attack can be made is learn." He said crossing his arms and looked Natsu in the eye. Natsu nodded, even though all he wanted to do was just go and attack this villain, they needed to know more. The Master began to walk out of the room, but turned to Natsu once more.

"Please take care of yourselves. I don't need any more of my children near death." He spoke. The Master knew dividing the guild up into two groups was basically putting everyone in that position, but only alone would that risk be great.

After the master left, Lucy began to stir around and woke up again. Natsu smiled and held her hand as she smiled back. "How did you sleep?" he asked gently, brushing her hair out of her face. Lucy shrugged, "It was okay…" she mumbled looking at her teammate. She felt safe around him, always had and always will. A small feeling in her gut urged her to make a move, and she did, "Natsu…" she spoke. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with content but also with anger.

"I want to tell you what happened…" Lucy said gripping onto his hand tightly, "It all happened when we got home…"

_I separated from the group and began my usual walk home. The smell of the local bakery filled my nose as I walked passed. I did stop to look at their sweet breads real fast, but then I noticed a dark figure standing a few feet away. When I looked up, no one was there. I brushed it off and continued my way home, occasionally looking over my shoulder. _

_When I finally made it home, I was greeted by my land lady who told me I had a visitor in my room, but something seemed odd about her. She had this stare…I continued inside and went into my room. A young man was standing next to my desk, holding a picture of me in his hand. He turned to face me; he had pitch black hair with red highlights, his eyes dark brown that held determination in them. I asked him who he was and he only replied with one word, "Nightmare." _

_I took out my keys and summoned Aquarius out of my tub. She unleashed scorching hot water onto this guy, but he was able to get out and get a good whack at me with his staff. It had a dark crystal at the top that started glowing. He aimed it at Aquarius and zapped her with this dark energy, forcing her to go back to the spirit world. Once she did, Aries summoned herself and put up a shield of wool in front of me, but she too was caught in the dark energy. I grabbed the wool and tried to make a counter attack with my whip, but it was no use. I was hit with the dark energy ray, but it didn't leave me on my knees. I stood up and summoned Taurus and Loke, something I was never able to do until now. Taurus was able to give the man a good beating, as did Loke. But to the Man, they were only a chance for him to rest. He unleashed the dark energy again and this time it blew me out the window. Luckily, I landed on the street, but my body was in serious pain. I began to run a little towards the guild to get help,I looked back to see if he was following me, but he was not at the time. I was only a few blocks away when he caught up with me though. He smacked me with his staff one last time in my rib cage and sent me to the ground. He aimed his staff at me and was prepared to finish me off, but then a bright glow came from my keys. An unknown creature came from it and blasted the man away before he could even take a glance at it. The being lifted me up and gave me some magic energy, it was enough to get me to you guys. But something felt familiar about its energy…it almost reminded me of my mother._

Natsu looked at Lucy, tears streamed from her eyes as she recalled the horrific incident. Something changed though, for Lucy wiped away her tears and had an angry expression on her face. She lifted herself up and clenched her fist, "Natsu, we WILL be the ones to bring him down!" Natsu smiled and gave a laugh, "That's the spirit!"


End file.
